Masters of Cinema
Blu-Ray Review: The Sun Shines Bright
John Ford was undoubtedly on of the greatest American directors of his generation. Over the course of six decades, he made well over one hundred films. Starting his career in the silent era and ending it during the 1960s. Making a number of iconic westerns, such as Stagecoach, The Searchers, My Darling Clementine and The …
Blu-Ray Review: The Love of Jeanne Ney
While the silent era planted the foundation stones for a global film industry which is now worth countless billions, it feels like it’s often dismissed as merely a genre in conversation. When in fact it was cinema, in all its entirety and diversity. The Weimar Republic played host to some of the most influential directors …
Blu-Ray Review: Champion
Boxing is one sport which punches well above its weight when it comes to popularity and media attention. Indeed, the amount of money to be made, primarily for uneducated young men, has made it a way out of poverty and a viable alternative to a life of crime. These factors have also made big box …
Blu-Ray Review: The Great Silence
Whilst most actors today seem to have been through a PR finishing school on how to answer interview questions, that has not always been the case. There was a time when the film industry was full of characters. However, there were few who could match Klaus Kinski when it came to intensity and volatility. While …
Blu-Ray Review: PTU
It makes sense that filmmakers turn to actors they can trust, time and time again. You see it happen a lot in cinema, directors and stars who collaborate frequently over many years. Some of the most famous partnerships have been Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune, François Truffaut with Jean-Pierre Léaud and more recently Martin Scorsese …
Blu-Ray Review: The Hands of Orlac
Robert Wiene was one of the great directors of the German expressionist period at the beginning of the 20th century. Indeed, he’s responsible for one of the best and still most admired films from that movement, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. He went on to make 45 films, mostly during the silent era, and whilst …
Blu-Ray Review: The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
With the death of John le Carré at the end of last year, the world lost one of the greatest spy novelists to ever pick up a pen. His work has enthralled readers for decades and his tales of Control and the British secret service have inspired and influenced many others. His books have been …
Blu-Ray Review: Viy
Delving deep into Ukrainian folklore, Nikolai Gogol’s Viy remains a perennial favourite across Russia. Since it’s first publication as part of a novella in the 19th century, it has captured the imagination of countless generations. Whilst there have been many adaptations, Konstantin Ershov and Georgiy Kropachyov’s 1967 film still remains the most notable. Indeed, it …
Blu-Ray Review: Mothra
Ever since we abandoned our caves, humans have apparently been fascinated by stories of exotic monsters and fantastic beasts. Whilst today, mass global travel and the internet means that these myths and legends have been roundly debunked, that doesn’t mean that enthusiasm for the unknown has waned. Stories of the Yeti, Nessie or Bigfoot still …
Blu-Ray Review: High Noon
In 1925, one of America’s most popular film stars first started out in the movies. Whilst Gary Cooper may have been a face which dominated cinema screens for decades, he came from humble beginnings. After a number of bit parts, his horsemanship and naturalistic acting style soon won him better roles. He starred in a …